News

Officials Focus on Limiting Spread of PED Until Warmer Weather

25 February 2014

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CANADA - The chair of the Ontario Swine Health Advisory Board says swine health officials are focusing on rapid detection and containing the spread as they work to address Porcine Epidemic Diarrhoea (PED), according to Bruce Cochrane.

PED, first identified in the United States in May 2013, has now spread to 25 states, affecting more than 3,500 US swine operations.

The first case in Canada was reported in Middlesex County Ontario in January and has since been confirmed in 18 additional sites and cases were confirmed 10 days ago in Manitoba and Prince Edward Island.

Dr Doug MacDougald, the chair of the Ontario Swine Health Advisory Board, told those on hand for a Town Hall conference call last week the goal in Ontario is to contain the infection until warmer weather when the virus will become easier to control.

Dr Doug MacDougald - Ontario Swine Health Advisory Board

In Ontario, our focus is eliminate it from the know sites and we know we will be successful in eliminating it from the know sites.

We are entirely focused on containment so that we can get into the spring or early summer where this virus will not be nearly as easily transmitted with as few positive cases and sites as possible and continue with the effective early detection, flags from the industry, surveillance to aid in early detection and ask us in May what our plans are through the summer on industry elimination.

At this point, that's our primary focus is just the pints that I made.

Dr MacDougald says surveillance and biosecurity measures thus far with PED appear to be holding up surprising well given the cold weather and the ability of this virus to survive and move around in winter time.